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The Cheapskate's favorite Cyber Monday deals (2015)

From the Cheapskate: It's Cyber Monday! Or, as I like to call it: Monday!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
4 min read

CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.

Whew! Another Black Friday (OK, Black Entire-Month-of-November) on the books. Time to get back to business as usual -- awesome deals every day, courtesy of yours truly.

Oh, right: Cyber Monday. To me, this is even less of an event than the increasingly diluted day after Thanksgiving, because online shopping is no longer the novelty it was back in 2005, when the marketing term was first coined. Quite the opposite: We all shop online every day, and there are deals to be had every day.

But, hey, it's the tenth anniversary, so let's turn this Mundane-day into a Multi-deal Monday! Here are my favorite bargains from around the Web:

The 39 best Cyber Monday deals of 2015

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Cheap earbuds

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First, check out the zipper-like cord. Next, tell me what this person is chewing on, and why. (Seriously, no idea.)

Zipbuds

Life is short; I'd really rather not spend any more of it untangling headphone cords. That's why I'm a big fan of Zipbuds, which employ zipper-like technology to keep cords tangle-free. Normally their products sell at a premium, but for a limited time, you can get the Zipbuds Slide Sport for $31.98, shipped, when you apply coupon code CNETHOLIDAY at checkout. Regular price: $79.95.

These sweat-resistant sport 'buds come in a variety of colors and include an in-line microphone and play control. Better still, they're backed by a lifetime warranty.

Cheap 'zines

I'm a big, big fan of Texture (formerly Next Issue), the all-you-can-read magazine subscription service. It normally costs $10-$15 per month, but today only you can grab a 3-month Texture Premium subscription for $10. (Click the red button to buy this as a gift, or the link below it to grab the subscription for yourself.)

Texture offers current and back issues for over 100 magazines, including Cooking Light, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, Wired and so on. And the newly updated app does a great job curating articles from your favorite titles. Seriously, if you know someone who loves to read, this is an amazing (and cheap!) gift.

Cheap convertible

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Asus

No, not that kind: The Microsoft Store has the Asus Transformer Book Flip TP200-SA Signature Edition for $199 shipped. Regular price: $349.

This 11.6-inch convertible, which debuted just last month (and has the USB-C port to prove it), can rotate a full 360 degrees, meaning it quickly goes from tablet to laptop and back again. It's not a performance powerhouse, and it comes with just 32GB of (expandable) storage, but you also get a one-year Office 365 Personal subscription. Pretty amazing deal.

Cheap TV

No, not that kind (man, I need to write less-confusing headlines!). For a limited time, you can get a lifetime PlayOn Plus subscription for $39.99. Regular price: $59.99.

Best Cyber Monday TV and streaming media player deals of 2015

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PlayOn is an essential tool for cord-cutters, offering a wealth of streaming and recording options (the latter, formerly PlayLater, has been integrated into the main service) via a vastly improved interface. Your PC continues to act as the central hub, so plan on leaving it running. But it's well worth that little bit of extra electricity.

Cheap speaker

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UE

You know me: When it comes to audio gear, I tend to steer toward the lower-end stuff -- if only because I don't like to pay a premium. But if you have audiophile tastes and a cheapskate budget, check this out: TechRabbit has the refurbished UE Boom Bluetooth speaker for $79.99, shipped, a price that includes a one-year warranty.

Available in black or white, this hugely popular (and highly rated: check out CNET's review) 360-degree speaker sells new for at least $150.

Cheap backup

If you've already met your local-backup needs but want to add a cloud component, start here: iDrive is offering 1TB of cloud backup for one year for just $5.95. That's not per month, mind you -- that's for the whole year.

After that, it'll cost you the regular price: $59.50. Of course, a year from now, cloud storage will probably cost even less. Or there will be another cheap deal. Go on, roll the dice!

Cheap books

Today only, Amazon has cut prices on some 800 e-books -- including some you might actually want to read. For example, grab "The Nightingale" for $1.99, "Go Set a Watchman" for $4.99, "Orphan Train" for $4.99, and Stephen King's "Joyland" for $1.99.

Cheap Apple TV

As streaming boxes go, the previous-generation Apple TV ranks near the bottom of the pack (my opinion). However, it's still a very capable product, especially if you like big-screen viewing of the photos and videos stored on your iDevice.

Also, it's finally competitively priced: Best Buy has the refurbished previous-gen Apple TV for $39.99, shipped (plus tax), the lowest price I've ever seen it. Anyone deeply tied into the Apple ecosystem (music, movies, TV shows, etc.) would do well to snap this up, as it's not likely to ever sell for less.

OK, that's it! Who's buying what? And what noteworthy deals did you find that I missed?